Forty-five years old Elizabeth feels her marriage to former Superbowl MVP Jackson Shore is failing as she feels she has lost her identity to her children and her spouse. With the kids in college, Elizabeth needs something else to overcome the empty nest syndrome and her perception of lost purpose, but concludes that her relationship to Jack is not the answer to her needs. Jack has his problems too as he threw away a golden opportunity in the broadcast booth due to drug abuse and is struggling one step at a time towards redemption.

Jack obtains the break he needs when Portland, Oregon station intern Sally Maloney provides him a tip on a story involving college basketball superstar Drew Grayland. As he seeks collaborating proof on Drew’s wrongdoing including date rape, his own marriage is collapsing. As Jack breaks the Drew story, Elizabeth withdraws further from him. Is this marriage between two college sweethearts over or will they find a path to happiness together?

This is an insightful middle age relationship tale that goes deep inside the psyche of the two lead characters, in which love no longer fosters communication. The story line takes the reader inside the head mostly of the disenchanted Elizabeth, but also provides a chance to see what motivates a disgraced former golden boy to seek his former glory. Though the ending is a bit too idealistic for the tone of the plot, fans of powerful dramas with strong characters will want to read Kristin Hannah’s DISTANT SHORES.